The clock starts Tuesday for the Minnesota Legislature. It has a total of 120 days over two years to get its work done.

It may seem like a long time, but history tells us most of the work will be done in the final days of the 2017 and 2018 sessions. History also shows us much of that work could be left undone.

Last year’s legislative session left tax and bonding bills unfinished, and the last time Gov. Mark Dayton worked with a Republican-controlled House and Senate, a government shutdown occurred and three people hammered out a $45 million state budget behind closed doors.

It’s clear that something must be done.

If the Legislature fails to reform, it won’t be for the lack of ideas.

Sen. Carla Nelson has repeatedly pitched creating a conference-committee deadline to require compromise a week before session ends, which would allow lawmakers and the public time to review the proposals.

“We have three calendar deadlines, but if you think about it, they are not the important ones,” the Rochester Republican said.

In the House, Rep. Gene Pelowski has offered a wealth of ideas to unclog legislation and help work get done, from limiting the number of bills to creating deadlines for amendments. The Winona DFLer’s suggestions also include simply following established rules.

Unfortunately, most legislative rules are flexible.

“Unless it’s in the Constitution, rules can always be changed,” Rep. Nels Pierson, R-Rochester told the Post Bulletin Editorial Board while discussing his frustrations with the system.

Others have noted delays are often negotiation ploys, since pressure increases as the deadline to end session nears.

“It’s always going to be taken up to the deadline,” Rep. Greg Davids said when we spoke to him prior to the November election. The Preston Republican added: “I’m thankful there is a deadline. Otherwise, we would still be up there.”

Such resignation points to the reform that is truly needed. While new deadlines, limits and rules will offer guidelines, the real needed change is in the culture.

Political and geographical divisions must end, and lawmakers need to focus on the final goal — passing meaningful legislation.

Pelowski points to reforms that ended social interaction among lawmakers as the start of a partisan shift. When legislators could no longer accept meals at large events, the incentive to gather was diminished and a herd mentality began to grow.

The results are seen in partisan votes and an unwillingness to compromise.

While we hope to see new rules and deadlines imposed, they will only work if the culture changes.

In talking with local lawmakers, we see hope for potential change.

“I almost voted with Rep. (Paul) Thissen when he brought forward a proposal to amend the House rules to require the budget resolution to be passed by a certain deadline to ensure we were going to have this all done,” Rep. Steve Drazkowski said, noting he eventually gave into political pressure from his caucus and opposed the change.

“I have regrets about that,” the Mazeppa Republican said of not supporting the Minneapolis DFLer’s proposal.

Such regrets carry added weight when the work is left undone.

Commitment to change must overpower political pressures and make sure the work is completed.

— Rochester Post Bulletin, Jan. 2